Gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin in advanced biliary tract and gallbladder carcinoma: a North Central Cancer Treatment Group phase II trial.

Background: Gemcitabine has broad activity in a variety of solid tumors including biliary tract carcinomas. The authors evaluated 6-month survival, response, and toxicity associated with a combination of gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and leucovorin (LV) in patients with unresectable or metastatic biliary tract or gallbladder adenocarcinoma (ACA).

Methods: A 4-week course included 1000 mg/m2 gemcitabine by intravenous infusion over 30 minutes on Days 1, 8, and 15, 25 mg/m2 LV by intravenous push, and 600 mg/m2 5-FU by intravenous push after LV.

CPT-11 for bile-duct and gallbladder carcinoma: a phase II North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) study.

Background: Bile-duct and gallbladder carcinomas are rare cancers. Once they have spread beyond the point of surgical resectability, no therapies have shown meaningful long-term benefit. These cancers are typically refractory to standard chemotherapy agents.

Early molecular changes in bladder hypertrophy due to bladder outlet obstruction.

Objectives: To determine the temporal relationship between the increase in bladder mass and the expression of growth-associated gene products during bladder hypertrophy due to partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Methods: Adult female rats, subjected to partial bladder outlet obstruction, were killed at defined points, and their bladder weight and total protein were determined and compared with sham-operated and nonoperated controls. Hyperplasia was determined by the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, transcription factors, and cyclins in obstructed rat bladders.

Testicular torsion in an adolescent with Fragile X Syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FraX) is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation. The clinical syndrome includes mental retardation, macroorchidism, and typical but variable facial features. Although macroorchidism has been recognized as a cardinal feature of FraX, descriptions of testicular pathology are rare.